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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27764695">held</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/eightbots/pseuds/eightbots'>eightbots</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Masquerade Series - Seth Dickinson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(failed) attemtps to process feelings through sex, Aftercare, Bondage, F/F, Oral Sex, Orgasm Denial</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 22:28:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,552</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27764695</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/eightbots/pseuds/eightbots</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Baru and Iscend have a very specific arrangement. Some of the restraints involved are physical. Most are not.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Iscend Comprine/Baru Cormorant</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Femslash Exchange 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>held</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/JackedofSpades/gifts">JackedofSpades</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Iscend had always admired storms.</p><p>She watched the rain through the small round window, as close to absent-minded as she ever got. Her mind drifted back to her childhood in the Metademe, where she spent many rainy afternoons watching the patterns the drops made on the windowpanes just like this. Her mind was invariably ordered, built for purpose. No thought was out of place, no impulse unpredicted. Storms were the opposite. The raindrops did not fall in a coherent pattern. They were carried around by the winds, which could change speed or direction on a whim. One moment the rain might beat against the window she was staring out of, rocking the boat where it was moored, and the next against the marble buildings of the city of Falcrest out past the bay.</p><p>Storms were chaotic. Completely unlike Iscend. They were also dangerous, and beautiful. So perhaps not quite so completely.</p><p>She turned away from the window and back to the bed.</p><p>It took up most of the cabin, leaving just enough room for a writing desk and a cabinet against  the far wall. It wasn’t the kind of furniture a boat would usually be equipped with. Not just because of its size, but also because of its heavy metal frame, attached to the floor and wall with rivets to stop it from moving during weather just like this. Something else was attached to the frame – four leather cuffs, two at the head and two at the foot. Strapped into them was a very naked, very blindfolded Baru Cormorant.</p><p>Iscend walked around the bed to Baru’s left side. Baru turned her head slightly, trying to follow her movement. Iscend reached down to Baru’s wrist, adjusting the cuff around it.</p><p>“You’ve been restrained for fifteen minutes since your last break. Do you feel any discomfort?”</p><p>“No,” replied Baru, voice hoarse.</p><p>“Do you wish to change position?”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“Do you require a break?”</p><p>“No.” After a beat, “Please…”</p><p>Iscend let her fingers trail down Baru’s muscular arm. This was an indulgence, but she has found that in this position, so entirely focused on controlling both herself and someone else, her usual controls became mixed up, muddled with the new ones. Sex was always her release, and not just in the sense it was for others.</p><p>“Specify,” she commanded. Thrilled by her previous indulgence she indulged more, running her fingers across Baru’s clavicle and then down the valley of her breasts.</p><p>“I need,” Baru’s breath hitched when Iscend trailed her fingers across the sweaty underside of her breast. Her hips rose almost imperceptibly off the bed, movement limited by her restraints. "Please, Iscend…”</p><p>Iscend pulled her hand away. Baru whined at the loss of contact.</p><p>“You know the rules. You have to be specific when you’re asking for something.”</p><p>Baru’s mouth worked for a few moments. But she didn’t say anything. Iscend shrugged, even though Baru could not see the gesture.</p><p>“Very well. I’m glad you’re comfortable, Your Excellence,” said Iscend. She still used Baru’s proper title, even when they were in this position. Baru had complained once that it defeated the purpose of the exercise, but it just wouldn’t have felt right to do otherwise.</p><p>“No!” Baru protested. She was searching for the right words, Iscend knew. She didn’t want to give her a command, but she had to communicate what she wanted, or nothing would happen. Those were the rules.</p><p>Their arrangement was the product of two very simple calculations. The first was that Baru was in a very stressful position, and had been under a dangerous amount of pressure and sustained trauma for a prolonged period of time. The chemicals released in the brain during sexual activity were known to alleviate, though not cure, the effects such things had on the mind and body.</p><p>The second was that with her usual lovers absent, Iscend was the best and safest partner for Baru while she was in Falcrest. They had discussed Baru’s issues with Iscend’s ability to consent at length, and eventually decided that an arrangement where Iscend had complete control would be something they’d both be willing to attempt. Baru had been quite excited at the prospect, which was quite new to her. Iscend provided her with extensive literature on the subject, which she was allowed to do as it was being used for education and safety, not licentious consumption. She also personally quite enjoyed this approach to sex. She had been trained to the human body as a mechanism. She knew one could draw pleasure, pain, or some other sensation from this mechanism if they taught themselves to master it. And she very much wanted to find out exactly how Baru worked.</p><p>As for the potential risk of either of them developing the perversions women were prone to according to Incrastic theory, Iscend concluded that that outcome was preferable to the potential adverse health effects Her Excellence might experience if she did not begin to have regular sexual relations with Iscend as soon as possible.</p><p>Finally, Baru found the right words. As usual, they were far simpler than the many variations Iscend was sure Baru had considered before realizing that she should just be honest and straightforward.</p><p>“I need you,” she said.</p><p>Iscend smiled and approached Baru again. She sat on the edge of the bed and ever so slowly, ran a finger down her stomach, following the sparse trail of hair beneath her bellybutton, and then gently cupped Baru’s exposed sex.</p><p>Baru moaned, trying fruitlessly to grind against Iscend’s hand, but the restraints didn’t let her.</p><p>“This morning you stated that contrary to prior evidence, you could <em>‘last as long as I wanted, I wouldn’t beg unless I wanted to’</em>.” Iscend said. She could mimick Baru’s voice with frightening accuracy, and she spoke in a bratty cadence she knew Baru always found somewhat offensive, even though she often used it herself. Iscend continued. “After I recounted the previous occasions which disproved your statement, we made a wager in which we agreed that if you went through an hour of stimulation without resorting to begging, you would be allowed to achieve orgasm and I would not. If you failed, the opposite would happen.” Iscend removed her hand from between Baru’s legs.</p><p>“Oh, Himu, please,” Baru groaned.</p><p>“Do you wish to retract your consent?” Iscend asked.</p><p>For a long moment, she watched Baru’s chest rise and fall silently. Then Baru said: “…No.”</p><p>Iscend smiled brightly. “Good. Then we can begin.”</p><p>She stood up from the bed and began undressing. When their arrangement began Iscend had decided she needed an appropriate outfit. After much deliberation and discussions with every provider of such wears she could find, she had settled on a skin-tight black leather jumpsuit, fashioned for her by an Aurdwinny leatherworker who could do things with leather few others in her trade could. She had fashioned it to Iscend’s measurements exactly, assuring her that it would <em>‘hug her in all the right places, meaning all of them’.</em> It came with matching boots and gloves, and was secured at the front with a complicated network of laces which almost blended with the leather when completely laced up. Iscend preferred leaving it mostly open however, to entice Baru with a scandalous view of her breasts.</p><p>It was also easy to take off. She set the gloves aside on the desk and toed off the boots, then unlaced the suit completely and worked to remove it. It always caught a bit around her hips and thighs, but soon she was stepping out of it and setting it carefully across the chair.</p><p>She took a moment to stretch and let her skin breathe, and decide what exactly she was going to do to Baru. She’d neglected to gag her, not just so she would know when she started begging, but also to use it once she had. But she still had to decide whether she should take a gentler or rougher approach, and how long to drag it out. She took a long look at the state Baru was in. Her breathing was even and controlled but deeper than usual. There was a dark stain on the sheets between her legs. None of this was surprising considering Her Excellence had been bound for almost an hour with a single break in the middle. Iscend decided not to overdo it. And to Baru’s credit, she’d lasted longer than Iscend had expected.</p><p>She approached the bed again, removing her underwear on the way. The fabric stuck to her for a moment, and she thought it was a shame Baru couldn’t see, knowing she always paid much attention to such details. Iscend thought that there wasn’t anything too exciting about the body’s natural reactions to arousal, but she also couldn’t pretend that the habitual emphasis of such things she displayed in Baru’s presence was entirely for Her Excellence’s benefit.</p><p>She folded the soaked, practically sheer lace and set it aside on the foot of the bed. She had accumulated an extensive collection of flimsy and sheer undergarments after noticing Baru had been unable to tear her eyes away from her backside the first time she wore something of the kind. She understood the purpose of such clothing – exciting one’s partner through visual stimulation and easy access to the sexual organs. She also thought it was quite pretty.  </p><p>Finally, she settled on her knees beside Baru. She cupped her cheek, running her thumb across her cheekbone. “Are you ready, Your Excellence?” she asked.</p><p>“Yes,” Baru replied hoarsely.</p><p>Wasting no more time, Iscend swung a leg over Baru and slowly lowered herself. She saw Baru’s nostrils expand, taking in the smell of Iscend’s arousal and sweat. Then she didn’t see Baru at all because her tongue made contact with Iscend’s clit and she threw her head back, not expecting such strong stimulation right from the start. Baru set a determined pace, tongue licking nonsense shapes around and across it relentlessly.</p><p>Iscend had to admit that Baru’s occasionally overbearing confidence in her skills wasn’t entirely unwarranted. And it wasn’t just her skill, but the devotion she always showed to the task. Iscend could picture the way Baru looked at her whenever they did this without the blindfold. The unrelenting eye contact, brows furrowed in concentration, and her apparent ability to survive on cunnilingus instead of oxygen. It all added up to something Iscend examined often and thoroughly, but still had no name for.</p><p>Iscend buried her hand in Baru’s hair and repositioned to take the edge off the stimulation. Unlike Her Excellence, she was in no rush. Baru adjusted quickly, dragging her tongue up and down her slit softly at first, then more firmly, pressing inside her.</p><p>Iscend wondered if Baru saw her body as a mechanism too. Did Baru make a study of the places and ways Iscend liked to be pleasured? The places she should be gentle and the places where she shouldn’t? Did she spend the twilight time before sleep devising ways to pleasure her more effectively? Iscend thought she probably did, because they were more alike than Baru would care to admit.</p><p>As she felt the stimulation building toward its peak, Iscend readjusted her position. Baru returned her attention to her clit instinctively, or perhaps she did know Iscend’s body as well as Iscend knew hers. Baru sucked on it, sending a jolt of pleasure through her loins. Iscend raised her fingers to her breasts, teasing the sensitive underside, then tweaking her nipples hard, in time to Baru’s strokes. The combined pleasure and pain made her pulse, and her exhales grew louder and louder.</p><p>Iscend reached the edge, thighs clasping tightly around Baru’s head as the pressure built up inside her released all at once. She arched her back with a long, deep moan. She ground herself against Baru’s mouth, heedless of her comfort – another small pleasure. Baru simply let her, mouth open and tongue extended for Iscend to rut against.</p><p>When the pleasure dwindled to a pleasant thrum between her legs, Iscend gingerly lifted herself off Baru and sat on the edge of the bed, catching her breath. She always felt hazy after an orgasm, her thoughts clouded and disordered in a pleasant, if mildly terrifying way. She did not allow herself to move while in this state.</p><p>After about a minute, Iscend collected herself and stood up. She walked over to the desk atop which lay two small folded towels. She wiped herself off with the first, then took the second to the bed. She set it down and began releasing Baru. She freed her legs first, then her arms, massaging the spots the restraints had been tenderly each time. Finally she hooked her fingers behind Baru’s blindfold. “Close your eyes,” she warned, and slipped it carefully off her face.</p><p>Baru’s face scrunched up quite prettily for a moment, but she adjusted quickly since there was no sunlight coming in from outside. She blinked up at Iscend blearily, not moving at first. Iscend took the towel, carefully wiping the mess of come and saliva off Baru’s face. Then she reached down, wiping away Baru’s own arousal. She whined at the touch, hips trying to chase the pressure weakly, but Iscend held her down and finished quickly.</p><p>“Fuck,” Baru said after a while.</p><p>Iscend smiled amiably. “It’s just until our next session. Unless you cheat.” She changed her expression into something a little dangerous. “I will know.”</p><p>Baru said nothing to that. Instead, she reached up with her hands, which Iscend took. She helped Baru sit up and readjust so she wasn’t sitting on the wet spot she’d left on the sheets.</p><p>Their eyes met. Not for the first time, Iscend had the illogical urge to kiss Baru again. She did not need her conditioning to tamp it down – she knew Baru had only agreed to their arrangement while they adhered to a strict set of rules. They had never agreed to provisions that accounted for ostensibly romantic gestures. Iscend would not put Baru, or herself, in a position that endangered their current relationship.</p><p>Instead she took Baru’s hands, turning them over to examine them closely, especially the wounded right. There was no unnatural coloration or other sign which would indicate the restraints had been too severe. Iscend had known this in advance – she did not make mistakes – but due diligence was important.</p><p>Just as she was about to examine her feet the same way, a tremor went through Baru. She looked up, finding Baru looking at her with a vacant, somewhat shaken expression.</p><p>“Sorry,” Baru said, hands wrapping tightly around Iscend’s. “This is always just… a lot.” She hesitated. “Could we maybe…?”</p><p>“Of course. This is a natural reaction in these situations,” replied Iscend and wrapped her arms around Baru. Despite their height difference, Baru curled up and pressed her face tightly against Iscend’s chest, breathing heavily. Iscend held her, chin resting atop of Baru’s short-cropped hair. Such aftercare, Iscend knew, was vital in arrangements such as theirs.</p><p>They stayed like that for several minutes. As Baru’s breathing calmed down, Iscend pressed a light kiss against her scalp. A reward for Baru’s good behavior.</p><p>Finally, Baru stirred. “Okay. I’m good, I’m good. Sorry. We can stop.”</p><p><em>“Gaios,” </em>Iscend said under her breath, and let Baru go.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This was meant to be my entry for femslashex but I mixed up the dates, oh well. Iscend is very hard to write but also fascinating and I might try again to see if I can perfect her. Baru in this fic is just there to be horny and slightly traumatized but I'm super interested in seeing her take on this arrangement cause I'm still not sure how she'd feel about it even tho I just wrote her in it!</p><p>Iscend's outfit was inspired by this art I saw while writing this and I had to spend a whole paragraph on it even tho it was only there so I could describe her taking it off lol: https://twitter.com/ChamberDream/status/1128134549421137921</p></blockquote></div></div>
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